Training For A Half Marathon

One of my new years resolutions is to run a half marathon.  I'm on track to run one at the end of June and possibly one at the beginning of June.

I ran through my pregnancy until the pain caused me to only walk and then to stop all together.  It felt really good to be 6 months pregnant and running 3-4 miles a day.  But that was in July and I haven't ran since.  Until last week.

I can't believe how out of shape I am!  I mean...  having to be put on bed rest and then having a C-Section will put you out of commission for a while I guess...  but seriously, this is ridiculous.

This is what I'm doing for now.  I go for half an hour and try to get further each time in that amount of time.  If, for some reason I don't even get 2 miles in that amount of time (which is what happened the first two times) I will go until I get to the 2 mile mark.  I went 32 minutes and hit 2 miles.  But the last time I ran I went 2.2 miles in 30 minutes.  So it's better!  Not to mention the 10 (literally) times I ran up the stairs and into Naomi's room because she was screaming during her nap. 

I don't run the entire time (yeah right - OUT OF SHAPE, remember?).  I try to not walk below a 3.5 on the treadmill and do intervals of the walking and then running at a 5.8-6 for a few minutes.  I've gone 3 minutes at a 6 so far and each time I try to go for 30 seconds longer.

My goal is to get to 3 miles in 30 minutes by the end of February.  It's very hard to get myself back into shape.  And it's not been fun to get on the scale and see that I've only lost half a pound when before without exercising at all I was losing a pound a week.  But, knowing what I know about the body and exercise I am retaining more water.  So, that goes up on the scale.

If in 2 weeks I'm not back on track to losing a pound or more a week I'll be sad!  Especially since I finished off my chocolate and have stopped eating that.  And I'm eating better because I'm making dinner.

Another goal?  To be within 5 pounds of my pre pregnancy weight by my 3 year anniversary.  Holy cow... 3 years.  It's in less than 3 months.  Crazy.  10 pounds in 3 months is VERY do-able. 

Stats

I posted yesterday about how I'm hoping to start making some improvements with myself.  Today I'm divulging information.  In code, though.

Instead of telling exactly how much I weigh, I'll give false numbers, but accurate at the same time.

Here we go:
I weighed 100 lbs when I got pregnant.  But I didn't really weigh 100 (I wish), but we will pretend I did. 
I gained 46 lbs during my pregnancy.  That is true.  So, at the end of my pregnancy I weighed 146 lbs.

Make sense yet?

I have 16 pounds left to go to get back to my pre pregnancy weight.
So it's like I weigh 116 right now and want to get back to 100.

Let me know if I'm confusing you.

I don't mind giving my real sizes.
Pre pregnancy I was a size 4 or 5, 26 or 27 and every shirt fit in a small.
Right now I'm a snug size 8.  Snug 29 and every small shirt is too tight and mediums fit.

In one of my classes during my last semester I was able to do underwater weighing to find out my exact body fat percentage.  It was taken in March - I was pregnant, but only around 6-8 weeks so it shouldn't have affected the results much if at all.
I was at 15% body fat.
I'm not sure where I am now since I'm done with school.  I'm hoping to go to the wellness center soon (they let members of the community come in) and get the caliper body fat thingy done to find out where I am now. 

Right now I'm losing about a pound a week without exercising.  I'm hoping with exercise to bump that up to a pound and a half to 2 pounds.

I cannot diet by cutting calories (since I'm breast feeding).  So, instead I'll diet by getting my calories from healthy sources.  More nutrient dense foods.
Chocolate didn't taste right during pregnancy and it does now.  I've been eating some every day.  (I know, it's amazing I'm losing any weight at all.  Thank you breast feeding)  I will stop that as soon as it's all gone :)

My motivation:

• You (through comments - hoping to get some supportive ones)
• this blog - I will post results often and it would sure be embarrassing if nothing changes from one post to the next.
• pictures - pre pregnancy pictures vs now.  I'll post examples.
• Jaren - he wants his little wife back, I'm sure :)  (even though he compliments me VERY often and has never made me feel like I'm slacking or fat)
• Clothing - I have a pretty sizable wardrobe that I am dying to get back into
• Money - I can't afford to make a new wardrobe of larger clothes
• mommy frumps - I do NOT want to become a frumpy mommy (which is what I feel like now)
• time - I want the most amount of time back to my pre pregnancy size before I get pregnant again and lose it all over again. 
• hair - I want to chop my hair off again, but wont do it until my face is skinny (what I consider skinny) again.  Naomi already grabs and pulls at my hair, can't imagine the damage she will do when she get's coordinated.

Up next: pictures.  Pre vs. now.

Where Am I?

I had an emotional break down today. 

The day started out fine.  I have a sick baby.  She has an ear infection and is trying to get over a 2 week long cold.  She also needed a higher dose of her Reflux medication and we didn't know until yesterday.  So, her reflux came back and I have been handling a pretty sad baby that has been really needy. 

So, with all the wonderful med's that are helping her feel better she slept much  more sound last night.  Which meant we did, too.  It wasn't until I tried to get on the treadmill, started to walk and felt the PSD (this site calls it SPD) pain again that I started to lose my good mood.  And I was only able to go just over a mile before Naomi started to fuss.  I tried running and the pain got worse.  Much much worse. 

Jaren came home for lunch and I took a shower.  It was during this shower where I realized what needed to change.  I'm afraid my PSD/SPD pain needs time to heal and hopefully my Chiropractor can help.  If not - I'm finding a new one.  I need to get myself back. I need to exercise.  I need to not let my eyebrows grow out of control.  I need to not go 3 days without showering.  I need to do things for myself. 

Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE being a mom.  I'm in love with my daughter.  I love taking care of her.  I love being at home and making sure she learns to fall asleep by herself, making sure she eats when she is supposed to.  I love reading to her - hearing her talk and squeal.  I love to sing to her; especially since she is the only person on this earth that loves to hear my voice.  I live for her smiles.  This is what I was born for.  At least it feels like it; being a wife and a mother.  I am so happy with where I am in my life.

I just need to now take care of myself, too.  Naomi is 2 1/2 months old (11 weeks today).  I have had plenty of time to get used to being a mom and develope a routine.  She is predictable and I should be able to work myself into the day as well. 

So.  

Here is the plan:

• Exercise at least 3 days out of the week.  (Idealy I'd like 6 days out of the week, but I'm taking off days and time into consideration)
• Do push ups and sit ups every day
• I'm giving myself 3 months to get back down to where I was pre-pregnancy.  (I'll post tomorrow with my stats)
• At least every other week get out and do something for myself (either pedicure, massage, facial, tan, and/or when the weather get's nice; things outside)  Idealy, I'd like to do this once a week.  But it may not happen that way.
• Shower MUCH more often
• Wash my face every day (believe it or not, sometimes it's hard to find time to get in and wash my face... ridiculous - I know)
• Floss my teeth every day (a hard one for me)
  

Because there are a lot of beauty schools here that do the pedicures and facials for cheap I can afford to do something like that every once in a while. 

If I'm feeling as motivated as I am today I should start posting more often.  It's part of my motivation - making this public.  And maybe, hopefully I can inspire or help someone else.